In overseas territories, poverty is five to 15 times more frequent than in mainland France

Guyana is particularly affected by poverty. Overall, this scourge is “five to fifteen times more frequent” in Overseas than in mainland France, in particular in single-parent families and among retirees, according to a study by the National Institute of Statistics (Insee) published Monday.

Nearly 18% of French people in extreme poverty live in the Drom (overseas departments and regions), while these territories represent only 3% of the French population, notes INSEE.

Guyana particularly affected

Of the four overseas departments taken into account in the study (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique and Réunion), French Guiana has the most critical indicators: almost 70% of the population there is poor (compared to 20% in metropolis) and half of households in extreme poverty live on less than 470 euros per month.

INSEE considers in a situation of “great poverty” all people with low incomes who deprive themselves of buying certain basic necessities.

The same categories of people as in mainland France

The categories most affected by extreme poverty are the same as in mainland France: single-parent families, so-called complex households (households comprising several families or generations) and single people.

But in Overseas France, the share of these households considered to be poor is much higher, indicates INSEE. For example, 32% and 24% of single-parent families in Guyana and Guadeloupe are in extreme poverty, compared to 5% in France.

Retirees on the front line

INSEE also indicates that overseas pensioners are more in a situation of great poverty than in mainland France. While 11% of Guadeloupe and Reunionese retirees are poor, only 1% of them are poor in France.

Another sign of greater poverty than in mainland France, the poorest overseas households more often go without meat (four to five people out of ten) and new clothes than in mainland France.

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